New Delhi: India filed a formal protest with China last week after an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh was held at Shanghai airport because of her Indian passport.

The incident became public when Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen, shared her experience on social media on Sunday (November 23) after leaving China.

“I was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hrs on 21st Nov, 2025 on claims by China immigration & @chinaeasternair. They called my Indian passport invalid as my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh which they claimed is Chinese territory,” she tweeted. She had also tagged the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu and Cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju.

On Monday (November 24), Indian official sources confirmed that a "strong demarche was made with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place."

“Our Consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended fullest assistance to the stranded passenger,” said a source.

Sources added it had been communicated that the passenger had been detained on "ludicrous grounds." "Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports."

Indian officials observed that "such actions by the Chinese side introduce unnecessary obstructions to the process" of restoring normalcy to bilateral ties. This was a reference to the gradual improvement in relations that began last year after resolving the four-year military standoff along the border in eastern Ladakh, during which relations had been severely strained.

Officials also stated that the actions of the Chinese authorities are in contravention of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation.

The Chicago Convention, signed in 1944, established fundamental principles for international air travel, including non-discrimination and the recognition of valid travel documents issued by sovereign states. The Montreal Convention reinforces the facilitation of international air travel.

China claims the entire Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and has published multiple lists assigning Chinese names to geographical features in the Indian territory. In the past, it issued stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh, prompting protests from India. In recent years, sportspersons from the state have been stranded and unable to take part in events in China after being denied visas.

Speaking about her experience, Thongdok explained that she had been travelling from London to Japan, with a three-hour layover in Shanghai.

She described how “one of the officials from the Chinese immigration came over and singled me out of the queue.” When she asked what was happening, the official responded saying, "Arunachal- not India, China-China, your visa is not acceptable. Your passport is invalid," she said.

The situation escalated when she tried to seek clarification. "When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, 'Arunachal is not part of India' and started mocking and laughing and saying things like 'you should apply for the Chinese passport, you're Chinese, you're not Indian'," she told news agency ANI. 

Thongdok emphasised that she had "transited through Shanghai in the past with no issues at all,” making this detention particularly unexpected. During the ordeal, she "couldn't get in touch with my family for a very long time."

She managed to contact the Indian embassy in Beijing and the consulate general in Shanghai. “…within an hour, the Indian officials came to the airport, got me some food and spoke through the issues with them and helped me get out of the country. A very long ordeal, 18 hours, but glad that I'm out of there," she said.

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